Sexuality
-
Killing the Sixties: Abuse, Consent, #MeToo and the Pagan Community
Today, the revelation of accusations of child molestation against the late Ar nDraiocht Fein founder Isaac Bonewits hit the Pagan community. This comes in the wake of the conviction of Kenny Klein, a prominent figure in Blue Star Wicca, ongoing concern about Pagan sexual culture provoked by the likes of the Frosts, and community discussion about violation of boundaries and consent at Pagan conferences and gatherings. It is also, of course, currently in the context of the #MeToo movement, which has brought countless women forward with their own stories and acknowledgement that they, too, have been harrassed and/or assaulted…and concerns on the part of some about how, exactly, due process…
-
Once Upon a Time in the Eighties
A memory, for May Day/Beltane… It wasn’t really a fabled time. There was a lot wrong with it. That said, there were things about it that were golden. It was a moment in Northern California, in the Pagan community. It mostly took place in wild places, in woods and deep forests. We danced naked under the full moon. We celebrated our rituals around a blazing fire. We made love in meadows. We took drugs: psilocybin mushrooms, San Pedro cactus. MDMA. And in that golden, loving space, alive with the joy of living, the world singing around us, we grew. We evolved. We healed. Again, to be fair: there were those…
-
Protip for Straight Pagan Men
There’s a thing straight Pagan men do. As I’ve observed it, they kind of do it a lot. Recently, I’ve had a couple of conversations that have brought this issue into high relief. They do it mostly to signal to women they don’t know very well—but are attracted to—that they are hip and cool and sex-positive. It’s this: they make sexual jokes. Double entendres, puns. “That’s what she said.” Guys, please stop this. It’s creepy. It makes people uncomfortable. Not to put too fine a point on it, when it’s unwelcome, it’s sexual harassment. By definition, unwelcome sexual overtures, jokes, suggestions are all sexual harassment. And here’s the thing, gentlemen: with…
-
In the Season of Sex
These days, I find it’s difficult just to navigate the world without getting sex all over me. The flowering trees and plants are airing their perfumes. When I get in my car in the morning, the windshield is covered with a fine dusting of yellow pollen. Fortunately, I am not subject to allergies, so it’s amusing, rather than oppressive. Meanwhile, there is all the usual hypersexualized nonsense in our media, of course: the objectifying inside-out world of a repressed people. And then, there is the disgusting story of Kenny Klein. It’s a steamroller, sex is. Grabs a person right by the lizard brain. So much sickness I see in our…
-
A Sticky, Sweaty, Complicated Mess (That Nearly Everyone Wants)
We were up long before the day-o To welcome in the summer, to welcome in the May-o For sumer is icumen in, and winter’s gone away-o! May Day has just passed, which many Pagans know as Beltane, the festival of young adulthood, love, and sexuality. Time for rising early to greet the dawn—if you haven’t been up all night—wearing floral wreaths, dancing ribbons about tall phallic Maypoles, sipping May wine … and making out, at least, if not making love. There is, of course, a great deal of variation within any large community, but part of what distinguishes the Pagan community generally from the mainstream culture is that it describes itself as “sex-positive”.…
-
The Pagan World is Different (Adult)
This post is really meant most for those who have come to check out Atheopaganism from the atheist/skeptic community. Thus far, the material on this blog has all been “family-friendly” from the standpoint of mainstream Western society. Even my post on the 10th Principle was more cautionary than encouraging, though at its core is encouragement that people take pleasure in the sensory experiences they encounter in life. This reflects a goal on my part: I want Atheopaganism to be an inviting path for those coming from the skeptic/atheist community as much as it can be for those coming from the Pagan community. While much of the Pagan community is cheerfully open…
